You may have liked it better when they call it the Tiger Walk at Auburn, or similar team parades on other college campuses.

“It’s unique to the NFL and the response has been dramatic,’’ Jags team president Mark told Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union. “We’re also starting something new between the third and fourth quarters that will be a surprise for the fans on Sunday. Those are examples of the traditions we want to build. They would be consistent and you would see them every game.’’

They tested it during the preseason, and fans seemed to like it. But Giants co-owner John Mara asked Lamping one question when he saw it.

“Does your coach know you are doing this?’’ Mara asked.

“Yes, he does, and he’s really embraced it,’’ Lamping said.

“The people who are college football fans love that type of stuff,’’ Lamping said. “They’ll say, ‘Hey, I am glad the Jaguars are doing something like that. They’re not afraid at looking at stuff that may work elsewhere and try to apply it here.’ ’’

Jacksonville’s a fantastic college football town, which is part of the reason the Jags stadium is bigger than they need.

But under new owner Shad Khan, they’re making a conscious effort to add a little juice to the experience. Today, that means fake mustaches and rally towels, with other promotions along the way.

They’re letting fans bring in their own food as long as it fits in an 11-by-11-inch bag, and creating targeted ticket packages to appeal to college fans, to get them into the building. They’re even throwing in gas cards with one package that includes the Jets game, so people wanting to see Tim Tebow will actually come to the stadium to see him.

13 responses to “Jaguars going on the Prowl to enhance in-stadium experience”

Ripping off? Really? Where is the mention of the Cowboys “ripping off” some college thing? I didnt realize the Jaguars were walking from through their campus to the stadium like the colleges you mentioned do.

I also dont get this site. You guys constantly write articles about teams needing to be more fan friendly so they dont stay at home and watch on HD. So now a team makes a game more fan friendly and you rip them? Makes no sense.

Mara responded to Lamping, “How much do you enjoy the comfort of guys like me and Jerry (Jones) footing the bill for all you do, knowing that without us sharing our revenue, your team wouldn’t exist, and probably never would have started in the first place. Now, isn’t it about time you take some responsibility and start really thinking about moving to L.A.?”

I think it is absolutely great that this team is doing things like this for the fans. Bottom line is it is the smallest market in the NFL (with all due respect to Green Bay who has Milwaukee less than an hour-and-a-half away), and they have to work harder than most other markets.

They are also doing a big tribute Sanya Richards Ross, the Olympic gold medalists whose husband is a starting CB for the Jags.

Khan has been perfectly consistent that he is trying to make the experience more fan friendly. Besides the Jets promotion, he is reaching out to the south Georgia viewing area for the Detroit game so that Matthew Stafford can be seen. When Tampa has blackouts using the 85% option (in a stadium that seats less than Everbank WITH the tarps), the Jaguars have announced that there will be no blackouts. Smaller markets have struggles in this economy, maybe it’s time to stop propping up those with solutions instead of criticizing.

I was in a certain shipping store the other day when a dude opens a box of season tickets from an SEC school. There had to be 40 sets in the box.

He’s on his cell & you can’t help but overhear him. He’s talking about how the market for premium NFL tickets is falling out because of 60′ HDTVs and that the game day experience has become weak. He said “all the NFL is about is TV, Fantasy and gambling” as he was splitting apart the tickets.

After his call ended, we chatted and he said that folks may pay face for a ticket or slightly above, but that brokers are hardly making anything compared to their old margins and that’s why “I’m buying monster truck tickets”.

Seriously.

Do whatever it takes to get folks to pay attention. Who wouldn’t want a front-row experience before or during the game if they’re middle class folks that can only afford the uppers next to the tarps?